Reviews :

Snake557 : Holy crap! 3 years? That's insanity. Sometimes I'll go back and binge-read Rectifying Origin or Out of the Blue (or more recently everything written of Favor's Game) and it takes me about 2-4 weeks each time, but that's me binge-reading X amount of chapters in a single day. 1 chapter a day, 3 years? Yeah wow! I sometimes don't realize just how much I'm sitting on sometimes lol

Firesong-Writes : Friend! Thank you SO MUCH for this, that's such high praise, especially coming from you. Thank you so much! And, as for the softness ending, you'll actually be surprised/hate me eventually, but yeah! The softness carries on actually for quite some time. Kepa and Gideon have like 2-3 spicy scenes, on top of 4-5 separate, full sex scenes. On top of some more family fun to be had as well, I held on to all the fluff for a little longer than I usually do with these stories. I'm far braver with Kepa and Gideon, idky I felt the need to give them the most magnified sex life, I guess due to their circumstances, but they get a world more screen time, intimately and romantically, than I think any of my couples, even Ralph and Vanellope, I'd dare say they rival. So yeah! fear not, the fluff is here to stay for a bit, but... You're definitely right, when stuff eventually hits the fan, it hits hard. Favor's Game's ending is probably the most drastic, bravest cliffhanger of an ending I've ever conjured. I'm hoping this doesn't spoil anything, and I know you guys will still be surprised, but the 6th story takes place on the internet, with Sugar Rush and old locations only briefly revisited throughout the lot of it. The 6th story is going to be -so- exciting and fresh, but it all definitely stems from Favor's Game's hellish ending. I'm equally terrified and exhilarated by the idea of it, I hope you guys are just as excited :D


Song Listened To :

As It Was by Harry Styles


*Chapter 199*

Somewhere in Gideon's nap, he had successfully muted his surrounding noises almost entirely. Due to this, consciousness came back to the pinks of his eyelids, though he could hardly hear anything. The only thing present was simply the vibrating feeling of Kepa's voice confidently being splayed out to the common room about the two, her delicate voice was only barely heard, the warble of humming vibration tight to his skull and center had Gideon fluttering his eyes closed a bit tighter, a dreamy sway of womb-like sensations. Kepa gestured her hand outward and took in big inhales against Gideon's head, to which was rested on her bare sternum, it was now obvious to Gideon that Kepa knew Gideon's hearing was muted and was now conversing with someone else in the room. Not knowing the time, not knowing just who was here, not even knowing what the conversation was about, he fervently rested in the feeling of her voice simply vibrating against the inside of his skull, the feel of her powerful inhales, the velvety soft fur on her sternum which was so short that it eventually peaked to the softest pink skin, Gideon laid still and did everything he could to just marinate in whatever moment this could even be called, something next to pure, unadulterated bliss.

"I tried to talk to Novus, him and Lickity came in just as I was walking into the enclosure," Lash mumbled sorrowfully as he rubbed his forehead, he sat at the kitchen island though faced out so he could speak to Kepa. She half-sat against the couch, so to keep Gideon tightly snuggled to him, though angled herself in such a way so she could properly talk to Lash looking behind the couch, "Lickity stopped to say hi to me and such, but... Yeah, Novus didn't pay me any mind."

"I have yet to meet any of them, they avoid us, but... Why?" Kepa worried, "I'd LOVE to meet the other flyers, I know my parents would, too. We could fly around and have a blast, I don't know why that's not even a thing happening, right now."

"Well, I don't think the other flyers are outright avoiding you and your parents, I know the enclosure is big enough for everyone and I know it's not about space or anything," Lash mumbled as he looked down to his bare feet, "Tessa told me she got Boss's and Lickity's approval before anyone was to move in, I mean... This is their sacred space, I highly doubt Boss or Lickity, or any of them, would've stood for you three moving in if they were totally against it. The fact that you three are even here tells me that you're welcomed here, hands down."

"Then what explains the silent treatment?" Kepa worried, Lash lulled his eyes closed in warm regret and shrugged.

"My best guess is Novus... Novus is taking this the hardest, for some reason, he's the only one staying THIS upset and isn't willing to sit and clear the air, like the lot of us have, with Gideon," Lash stated as him and Kepa held eyes, "Novus hasn't said anything, to anyone. When you told me that Novus was the one to come get you, when you and Gideon first reunited the other night, I was shocked. Like, entirely shocked."

"Op- Gideon's awake," Kepa murmured gently as she froze and perked her ears a little, though Lash furrowed his eyebrows and peered to the two in cute confusion, having seen that Gideon hadn't even moved at all.

"How can you tell?" Lash chuckled, Kepa rested her hand to the back of Gideon's head and angled her head so to peer down at him without jostling him too much.

"His breathing changed, he has us muted still," Kepa murmured through a giggle as she re-situated herself and gestured her hand to Lash, she noted the small little glow of Gideon's purple coding that made the tattoos, on his temples, glow a little, a sure-fire sign that he was utilizing his new muting abilities, "Lash, when I went with Gideon and everyone to collect Rancis, for good, Gideon kept mentioning returning for the other winners, for Vye, and hopefully Callum... I-I don't know, anytime leaving Sugar Rush is mentioned and diving back into the internet, the dark web no less, I get... Incredibly scared. As much as I want Gideon and my mother to uphold promises given to everyone, which includes me, I just... The thought of him leaving again just kills me."

"Yeah, I can't even wrap my mind around that, he only just got home a week ago," Lash sucked in a huge, readied breath and peered to the sweet image of Kepa and Gideon rested snuggled tight into the thick, hefty embrace of Kepa's wings, the delicate drape of her little hand to the back of his head, the look of protective seriousness glossed Kepa's matured, womanly face, Lash squeezed his eyes shut and smiled, due to not being able to bear it, "We're definitely in limbo, currently. We have no choice but to stay still while Gideon gets back on his feet, while we all do as such, but... I do believe, given the time to rise again and save those who need saving, I guarantee Gideon's not going to go rushing off without us. I won't allow it, I know you won't."

"What if he runs off without telling us?" Kepa worried, her voice began to shake, though before she could open her mouth and rush Lash more worries, in which she assumed Gideon couldn't hear, she flinched in solid surprise the second Gideon's hoarse, gentle voice coat her sternum.

"I made that idiotic mistake once and I won't ever do it again," Gideon gently assured, to which Lash and Kepa froze with wide eyes that eventually sagged into sheepish chuckling. Gideon sucked in a huge breath, and in the slow melt of coming to a careful sit, the eventual unravel of Kepa's gorgeous wings, Gideon squeezed his eyes shut, grunted to a proper sit and faced Kepa and Lash, which essentially had him leaning his arm against the back of the couch as he faced back into the kitchen, where Lash was. With his auburn hair cutely sprout in a drastic, singular direction, he rubbed his eye with his two fingers and slumped with a cute, sleepy smile as Kepa and Lash quietly laughed at the state of his refreshed being, her gentle hand began to do everything to put Gideon's hair back to normality, with not much success. Gideon groggily peered into Kepa's eyes and back to Lash's in a swing of slow arrival to consciousness, "I know you guys don't really trust my word, right now, but... That's okay. I just have to prove I'm not going anywhere by, well... Not going anywhere."

"Yeah, we're all on edge about it, even me," Lash mumbled sorrowfully, Kepa bobbed a nod, to which Gideon sucked in a huge breath and also nodded in warm, regretful understanding, "The thing to do, from now on, is just be present. We were just discussing Novus and them. You haven't talked with him at all, have you?"

"I did, it was brief," Gideon murmured sleepily as he lulled his eyes closed, though remained sitting up.

"Oh, you did?" Kepa brightened, Gideon nodded and covered his mouth amidst a massive yawn.

"Yeah, he, well..." Gideon stated through the end of his sighing yawn, he smacked his lips and sat up a bit straighter, "Basically told me that he was incredibly angry with me, and though he was grateful I was home, he like... Couldn't even bear to look at me. I said I understood, we hugged, and then he vanished."

"Well... I-I'm glad he was at least civil, to you," Lash mumbled as he fingered his lip, he peered out the balcony doors and took note that not only was it raining, the sun had set an hour or two ago, "I'm wondering if... Maybe tomorrow, if it's sunny out, you two should have a bit of a beach day. Be present out and about, here and in the enclosure, with Kepa's parents. If you all are talking and making clear you're getting on just fine, maybe that will entice Novus to come by and begin making amends."

"What if we like... Invited everyone? Is that too much too soon?" Kepa mused happily, she ultimately peered to Gideon for guidance, "I know being in big crowds, especially with your family, is triggering, but... Is there any way we can start fresh? Have a lazy day where we kind of officially hit reset on this whole thing?"

"Fuck if I know, I just woke up," Gideon suddenly spat in a whole reversal of uninhibited rudeness, something Kepa visibly flinched to in the sag of her ears in Gideon's peripheral; it was here did he immediately soften and show a huge swathe of remorse, "I-I'm... I'm sorry..."

"Tell us how you really feel," Lash choked a small laugh, though he peered into Kepa's suddenly sad eyes and felt that roll of protectiveness crawl over him; although he knew Gideon was struggling with wrangling in his attitude, Lash was glad he at least caught himself. Although halfway to making it right, Gideon grunted to a stand, circled about the common room's couch and began to make his way to the island. It was here that Lash got a good look at Gideon, in the good lighting of the kitchen, and with such, he noticed Gideon suddenly looked clammy, as if he was going to be sick. Lash stiffened and wrangled a nearby bar stool for Gideon to sit at, "Whoa, whoa, you okay bud? Sit down, what's up?"

"I-I don't know, I just suddenly feel... Real weird," Gideon's voice croaked as he messily sat to the stool, shoved his elbows to the counter, held his head messily in his trembling hands and urgently peered down to the counter in a swing of a bunch of different emotions, all at once.

"Are you going to be sick?" Lash worried, sweat began to crown Gideon's forehead as he sat up a little and inhaled a huge, trembling breath. It was here did Kepa urgently get off of the couch and loosely stand at Gideon's left, "W-We got all the corruption outta yah, or so I thought, but... I-I can call Ace, if we need?"

"No, it's not that, I just..." Gideon rubbed his forehead in a spill of dread and knew just what he wanted, just what he thought he needed, he grit his teeth in full dismay and cued his swirly purple coding, on his right arm, as if to fall into the act of manifesting, though only little blips of glitching made the coding on his arm successfully warble about, "I'm... So desperate for... Well..."

Kepa sucked in a huge, trembling breath and firmly rubbed her forehead upon hot realization of just what Gideon wanted. She firmly stabbed her teary gaze into Lash's, though he gently shook his head at her as if to insinuate that everything was going to be okay and withdrawals were inevitable. Lash looked down to the island, sighed in almost smiling defeat and shook his head as he gripped Gideon's shoulder.

"It's been a week without, you've made it this far and have gotten through the first forty-eight hours of hell... You were dealing with so much you probably hardly even understood that you were HAVING withdrawals," Lash eased a small chuckle, and with a great amount cautious care, he flood Gideon's coding with his, in an electrified swirl of their mixed exterior coding, Gideon visibly sagged even though his trembling got a bit worse over time, "We need to find you adequate replacements. We gotta busy your hands or your mouth or your mind, something."

"Drawing?" Kepa sweetly suggested, Gideon bobbed a nod and fluttered his eyes closed as sweat dripped down his temples.

"That works sometimes, but... I need a smoke, or like... A coffee, something," Gideon tenderly pleaded, he sucked in a trembling breath and looked as if he was en-route to panicking, to which Lash gripped his shoulder and soothed the rush of it that began to hit him between the eyes. He peered into Gideon's nervous, pleading gaze and patiently allowed certain feelings and desires to mix into their exterior swap, silent pleas that Gideon let loose in the act of desperately wanting to manifest himself other substances that were lighter and softer, "Please, man, just... Please let me manifest myself some weed and a drink, I just need something, anything..."

"A-Alright, alright," Lash agreed with hesitation, though as he grimaced in the act of overriding Tessa's code room settings, so to un-pause Gideon's manifestation ability, Gideon fluttered his eyes in hot understanding and thrusted his right arm out in the full preparation to manifest himself the allowed goodies, though Kepa opened her mouth in a falter of nervous words and tenderly laid her little hand to Gideon's much bigger left arm.

"Left, baby," Kepa hummed gently as Gideon slowed his roll and glossed his slow drag of eyes tight to her's in an enchanted whirl of seemingly an echo chamber reverberation, the bounce her lovely voice did in his rattled skull.

Gideon narrowed his gaze and lovingly peered into her eyes, in the stillness. Even though he had just mildly erupted at her and was rather gutsy with how he spoke to her just after she had paid him a huge kindness in letting him have likely the best nap of his life, she peered to him in full stillness of unconditional love. With a sag of his trembling shoulders, he exhaled a long, hot breath through his nose and fully frowned into Kepa's eyes, billowed tears and all. He scoffed a teary little chuckle, looked off and squeezed his eyes shut in the hit of emotion that crawled over him, all at once. The very words Ora had sweetly repeated, words that originated with Kepa, inside Gideon's circle, he finally reopened his teary gaze and lovingly opened his left hand so to let Kepa's much littler hand in. She smiled in an equal show of teary cuteness, gave his big hand a huge squeeze and a jostle, to which she stood a bit taller and felt as if this was a good instance to step in and guide Gideon.

"Y'got ahold of your powers?" Kepa wondered as Lash remained glued inside their exterior swap; although the two trusted Gideon, it wasn't enough to let him be left alone with all of his manifestation abilities.

"Ma'am," Gideon pressed warmly, he opened his trembling left hand, face up, and kept his eyes glued into Kepa's.

"What items are you wanting?" Kepa wondered gently.

"... A few blunts, a cold brew," Gideon listed quietly, he shyly glanced to Lash and took note that Lash sucked in a readied breath and let loose a murmuring notion.

"Any chance you can share the wealth?" Lash politely requested, to which Gideon broadened a huge smile and felt confidence come back to him.

"Decaf, please manifest yourself decaf, you're shaking more than a leaf in a windstorm," Kepa stated in a great show of nervous, smiling concern as she rubbed her little hand up the inner, exposed part of Gideon's lower left arm.

"Yeah, I can manifest enough for us three," Gideon mused, though he eyed Lash and shrugged, "So... What if I want to manifest more of this and you're not with me? What do I do?"

"Gideon, manifest yourself a few blunts and save them, make them last, don't go sucking through them all at once," Lash and Kepa erupted into sweet laughter as Lash teasingly scolded Gideon with the grip he had on his broad shoulder, "Go from hardened Game Over winner to lazy pothead on the beach, my User, Gideon."

"I'd say the latter is far less risky," Gideon smiled, his head and neck began to tremble, to which Kepa gently rubbed his arm a little more fervently and got his attention.

"So, before you manifest it all, what's your intention with it?" Kepa gently requested his moldable, teachable being, he softened and looked off in a moment of pondering.

"Well... I'd like to curb cravings, stop this trembling, for fuck's sake," Gideon spat as he urgently rubbed his temple with his right hand, one that blatantly trembled, "Outside of that, I'd love to have a smoke with you guys, just sit and relax. No harm in that, right?"

"As an occasional thing, surely," Lash shrugged, he looked up and blurt a nervous chuckle, "Can't imagine how thrilled Mara will be when I return home stoned. I gotta take it easy anyways, it's been awhile."

"Have you ever smoked?" Gideon asked Kepa gently, to which he softly flinched in the recoil of words that just came out of him. Kepa blurt a shaky giggle as the two caught eyes, "That was probably the weirdest thing I've ever asked you."

"Yeah, I have, it's been years," Kepa admitted shyly, "We still got a lot to learn about each other, my guy, I got ten Arcade years over you. Sure, you've been to the darkest reaches of the internet and had your own life experience, but... Ahem."

"Ten years? Yeah, bud, you may have two years-worth of crazy events cram-packed into two months but a decade is a decade," Lash smiled and jostled Gideon's shoulder, Lash muttered the obvious to the two, something that wasn't ever remembered often, "I have a whopping forty years over Mara."

"...FORTY?" Kepa erupted with a huge, bewildered grin, to which Lash squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.

"LOOK, I wasn't planning on falling in love with her, she dragged me into a scary cave, she sassed me into next Tuesday, she traced the cy-bug markings on my forehead and told me I was irreplaceable," Lash firmly listed with happy laughter that coursed through the three, "I wasn't thinking about the WALL of years I gifted her, upon our swap."

"Yeah, but she's a User, surely you were just laying there, FRIED," Gideon's deep voice cheekily mused with very obvious tease, something Kepa felt her heart leap at, Lash shot Gideon a bewildered look and scoffed a playfully offended chuckle.

"Okay, buddy, y'come and see me after you're handed Kepa's ten years," Lash stabbed, to which Kepa flattened her ears and shyly looked down with a nervous, giggling grin she couldn't stifle, "... If Mara wasn't a User, bet your ass I wouldn't have been the one laying there just fried, okay?"

"Aw, poor baby," Gideon murmured in baby talk as he pouted, though he erupted into happy laughter the second Lash now grappled his shoulder in a pinch of brotherly tease and firmly jostled Gideon in a wobble of laughter that made the lighthouse sing.

"C'mon, get your shit so we can relax and make a game-plan for tomorrow," Lash rushed in annoyed urgency, to which Kepa brightened and pat Gideon's left arm, once more.

"Alright, so... Your intention was to curb cravings, to hang out with us and sit and relax, yeah?" Kepa listed, to which Gideon inhaled a deep breath and bobbed a readied nod, "Okay, with that intention, and ONLY your intention, think about the items you want to manifest, just sit with that pairing, your items and your intention."

Gideon inhaled a huge breath, lulled his eyes closed and really sat with himself. He had the knee-jerk reaction to just thrust it all into tangible reality, the lightning quick spill of his manifestation was so readily available due to the intense, coded workout he went through, in winning Game Over. Everything was done incredibly fast, with no shred of intention work, and it was here did he allow the noise of just what kind junk he very easily could manifest dull to what he wanted in this moment. Through a thick, easy exhale out of his nose, he allowed his manifestation coding to simply rouse from the grips of his mainframe, as if surfacing from still water. What typically would be a kickback of coding, a shockwave of electricity that rippled through his body, due to manifesting way too quickly, this time was entirely different. A soft and easy feeling he had almost forgotten about, and with all the ease in the world, he gently gripped his hand about the few, tightly and perfectly wrapped blunts. He brightened, scoffed a shaky laugh and held out the few thick sticks with a show of accomplishment. Lash raised his eyebrows, plucked one from Gideon's grip and began to move about the kitchen in search for a lighter.

"Y'manifested yourself five sticks... So, three for us now, you have two to tide you over, how long can you make these last you?" Lash wondered gently, he snatched up a lighter from the nearby junk-drawer and came back to the three as Gideon opened his palm in preparation to manifest the three delicious coffees of their choice.

"This will probably last me a day or two if I really tried to drag it all out," Gideon sighed, he continued on with Kepa's manifestation method and made sure to get the three their own coffee orders, something Lash brightened to.

"You remembered," Lash cooed sweetly, to which Kepa cutely gripped the cold brew Gideon had manifested for her, and as she tucked the straw to her mouth, she also delicately plucked one of the rather beefy blunts from Gideon's person.

"Yeah, I'm shocked," Gideon muttered with a sneaky smile as his bigger fingers spurred the lighter, tucked the blunt into his lips and lit up with a thick inhale all boiled down to the burning, hot-orange end of it. He hovered, fluttered his eyes closed and deeply sagged into on himself as he let out a billow of dragon-smoke through his nose, "Ohh, User."

"N-No, don't... Say shit like that, Mara can say shit like that, you can't," Lash stabbed with a hearty laugh as him and Kepa equally lit theirs and joined in, Gideon grinned and was lost in laughter.

"Oh true, sorry, I didn't even think about that," Gideon mumbled, though he furrowed his brow and shot Lash a bewildered grin, "Mara knows you're a User, right? She's moaning 'oh User' at you in bed? Instead of your name?"

"Look, I'm not going to indulge on swapping secrets, you're still green in this vein, why don't you experience it and get back to me with the wild and weird things Kepa will yell out in the heat of it all, kay?" Lash rattled in a roll of sarcastic tease that he spilled all over Gideon, who's face immediately turned beet red.

"L-Let's talk about tomorrow's plans," Gideon murmured with a shy smile as he twiddled his lit-blunt in his fingers, knowing he'd clean it up later, he dribbled ash on the counter before him with a tap before he grappled his frosty decaf iced coffee and tucked the straw to his mouth.

"You're the winner!" Kepa called as she gripped the chest of the hoodie she wore, which was Gideon's, she threw her head back in hard laughter as Lash equally erupted in a spill of now coughing-chuckling as he finally exhaled his thick, smoky breath.

"Please no," Gideon mumbled in a playful show of terrified dread, he shook his head and grimaced in apology, "User, no, do not bring Game Over into it."

"Y-got thirty-seven kills, y'know what that means," Lash muttered into his drink, Gideon furrowed his brow and looked nervous to ask.

"No, I don't know what that means," Gideon stabbed through hearty laughter that everyone was lost in, "Enlighten me! Since you like to think I'm so green, and all."

"You guys haven't swapped or anything, I'm not stupid," Lash rolled his eyes, he lazily slumped to the island a little more and got comfortable as Kepa pulled up a nearby chair, she sat across from Lash and adjacent to Gideon, who sat in between the two.

"Well, there was that one time-... Y'know what, never mind," Kepa muttered as she looked off and tucked the blunt to her lips and flicked her tail up in a sassy swat of reserved cheekiness.

"Yeah, please no," Gideon huffed shakily as his face now was nearing a shade of purple, though he shyly smiled and looked down to his coffee before him, he jokingly stammered on, "Somehow my anxiety is getting worse."

"No, no, do tell," Lash gestured his hand and peered to Kepa in a show of teasing intellect.

"No, I don't kiss and tell," Kepa mumbled as she continued to look off in sassy, smiling reservedness, she exhaled a splay of dense smoke through her nostrils as her whiskers expanded in the mess.

"That's what you told Novus the second he started getting suspicious, but here you are throwing insinuations around," Gideon loudly garbled in Kepa's direction, to which she flattened her ears and stabbed a look of teasing disapproval into Gideon's golden, smiling eyes.

"Oh, Novus can smell ANYTHING, he didn't need any of your silly insinuations," Lash stabbed as he flagged his hand outwards, "Y'can't get anything past him, anyways."

"But we CAN get stuff past YOU," Gideon beamed and pointed to Lash in what he thought was a definitive end to this all.

"Does receiving a handjob make you not 'green' any longer, then?" Kepa wondered as she used quotations, though Gideon's face sloped to broadened shock as he dragged said shocked expression tight into Kepa's adorable little smirk of apologetic cheek.

"Uh, yeah! That'd accomplish a bit," Lash was now lost in teary laughter he could hardly recover from, the high of it all now hitting all three of them square between the eyes; Lash's laughter now wrangled Kepa and Gideon into a huge, contagious giggle-fit as Lash staggered to continue on, "Was HE the one yelling out weird things, then?"

"NO! This is a NIGHTMARE!" Gideon's deep voice bellowed through an eruption of laughter as he slammed his hands down, both Kepa and Lash were now crumpled and entirely lost in silent, quaking laughter.

"I-I can't breathe," Kepa silently wheezed through the never-ending quake of her giggling as she buried her forehead into her arms, now fully slumped into the island's cold counter.

"I hardly said much of anything intelligent, I could hardly even think straight, I was having my shit ROCKED, what am I supposed to do, recite the Declaration of Independence?" Gideon continued to loudly exclaim through a huge shake of laughter that he now fully succumbed to, "Shit! Can we PLEASE discuss tomorrow's plan?"

Kepa and Lash laid collapsed in the counter, the only thing visible was the shake of their upper backs and the silent quips of their long-gone laughter. They finally lifted in the blistered look of unending joy, the lighthouse sung with their goofy love, everything in this moment was everything Gideon knew he needed to shake the harrowing feelings that came to him in waves. The sweet grin and fangs that adorned Kepa's beautiful face, the vivid glow of gold in Lash's warm eyes, Gideon struggled to catch his breath through their laughter and rested his hand on his chest. Although eager to spill to the two just how much he loved them, just how much he needed this, he continued on with his antics.

"So, the plan tomorrow is to dig a MASSIVE hole and just... Fucking bury me in it and forget I'm there, no I'm DEAD serious," Gideon flagged his half-gone blunt and fervently shook his head as Kepa and Lash were again rocketed into wheezing laughter, "Is there anything else that can be said to embarrass me further?"

"Y-Yeah, remember that one time-" Kepa staggered through teary giggling, though Gideon sharply pointed his big finger at her and gave her a crazed look of playfully terrified desperation.

"NO ONE ASKED YOU!" Gideon shouted in a high-pitched tone, a full display of teasing frustration, to which Kepa hugely grinned and went limp against the counter again due to being absolutely lost in wheezing laughter. Gideon gently slammed his hand down to the counter and leaned closer to her, "You know too much! You're not allowed to say anything else about me, stop it!"

"I'm about to barf," Lash choked through struggling laughter, he desperately clutched his chest and attempted to catch his breath, "Holy shit, I haven't laughed this hard in SO long."

"Me neither," Kepa wheezed through her tears as she hugged her head in her arms and also did everything she could to catch her breath.

"Y-Yes, we'll dig a hole and put you in it," Lash smacked his lips, swallowed a few times and reached for his coffee in the midst of doing what he could to get the giggles out, "A lot of us can't attend, cause of quarter alerts, but then again, maybe just invite a small group. Start with maybe Kepa's parents? Tell Beaux, Tessa, Oliver and crew?"

"Y-You think they'd actually want to come, though?" Gideon wondered through the final catch of his breath, he chuckled and wiped his eyes as Kepa now did what she could to collect herself, as well.

"Gideon, do you remember the first few nights you were here? The code room torture we all endured with you?" Lash uttered in chuckling frustration as he took another huge swig of his coffee, "Yes. We adore you. Invite them, they will drop what they're doing to come hang, I promise. New leaf, y'know?"

"I know," Gideon sighed as he looked down, "I just get so wary hanging out with them in a big group, it eventually switches to talking about like... Babies and weddings and crap, I just want to have fun, intelligent conversation, not everything has to do with babies and weddings."

"You have to give the people that love you a chance to do right by you, bud," Lash stated with a knowing bob of a nod, Kepa sighed and settled in her seat as she took another inhale of her blunt, "Hold your head up, you have Kepa and Beaux as a solid buffer, I also am pretty sure Kepa's parents won't torture you with baby or wedding talk."

"Uhh, I BEG to differ," Kepa stabbed as she flattened her ears and shyly glanced into Gideon's curious toss of a sweet, furrowed look.

"Oh, do tell," Lash mused, once more, to which Gideon bugged his eyes and shook his head.

"No, no more, steer the conversation AWAY from me," Gideon begged, to which Kepa now erupted into another giggle fit she couldn't contain.

"We broke her," Lash muttered sadly as she covered her face and shook her head, "She's a lightweight, we should've seen this coming."

"Okay, we can't be acting this stupid in front of everyone come tomorrow, they're never gunna trust us three alone ever again," Kepa giggled and rubbed her eyes, Lash was eager to keep pushing her buttons.

"Well, yeah, especially you two, it'd result in handjobs that Gideon has no clue how to talk his way through," Lash whined as he flagged his hand in Gideon's direction, to which Gideon rubbed his temple and sharply eyed Kepa, who was now a giggling wreck.

"I would rather die than to be taking part of this conversation right now, I'm SO serious," Gideon stabbed, though he couldn't make it through without joining in on Kepa's contagious giggling, "Say something nice about me, please, I am BEGGING."

"Okay, so, you see my forearm?" Kepa started through the choke of her laughter as she rolled her sleeve up, though as she balled a fist and proudly showed her whole forearm in an upward thrust that practically glowed with her phallic insinuation, Lash, who was in mid-drink, sharply began to choke on his coffee. He set his cup down, hunched over and now aggressively coughed through his outburst of shocked laughter.

"...I feel a lot better, thank you," Gideon stated through a smug smile as he sagged and gave Lash a cocky, devious side-eye, "Y'heard the lady."

"Alright, alright, you win," Lash grappled the chest of his shirt and urgently coughed into the bend of his elbow, "Y'guys are a riot. I now know just where to come when I need a good laugh."

"Tomorrow should be fun, I do seriously hope Novus eventually comes by," Kepa stated through a sigh that drooped to a frown.

"Well, a few hours into it, we can mosey through their enclosure and see if we run into him," Gideon shrugged and peered to Lash for guidance, "I don't know, maybe not the wisest thing to do, but..."

"Hey, you both are coded for Sugar Rush, so if Novus comes flying down like a rocket from outer-space to scorch your ass," Lash started, he inhaled a huge breath and playfully concluded his threat, "Well, warn me, cause I'll pop popcorn."

"You're so kind, I don't know what I'd do without you," Gideon muttered, Lash raised his frosty cold brew and tapped his cup against Gideon's drink with a thunk of the plastic.

"Cheers to that," Lash cheekily snipped.